Virgin Australia’s new-look long-haul launches at LAX

Virgin Australia’s new International Business Class designed by tangerine was officially launched on July 21 at Los Angeles International Airport by Virgin Australia Group CEO John Borghetti. The opening of the new route represents a significant enhancement to the passenger experience on the trans-Pacific route and an important investment in travel and tourism between Australia and the United States.

 

tangerine’s Chief Creative Officer Matt Round, who led the cabin interior design for the airline’s new flagship International Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, was on the platform with Virgin Australia Group CEO John Borghetti at the launch event.

 

Round recalled the ‘blood, sweat and tears’ and revealed, the passion, dedication and resolve of the design team in creating the right solution for Virgin Australia.

 

“This is the story of overcoming obstacles; of short timescales, allaying the opposing needs of various stakeholders, and of straddling different time-zones. Video conference calls between North America, Europe and Australia would regularly feature restless babies or a kid sheepishly getting ready for school in the background, to the slight embarrassment of the project team member,” says Round.

 

 

For Round, “the new Virgin Australia cabins are stunning because tangerine got to the heart of what makes the airline tick and where design could make a difference. We used design to make the link between the aspiration of the passengers, engineers and airline staff, and by working together, we turned the ordinary into the extraordinary.” 

 

Everything within the cabin interior was transformed, from the broad impression of the customer as they enter the aircraft, to the fine details at the end of the passengers’ fingertips; like the quality of the materials and the graphic user interface on the touch screen seat controls. The result is an outstanding customer experience that exudes quality, elegance and sophistication.

 

The airline’s flagship Business Class product ‘The Business’, new Business Class Bar & Lounge and new Premium Economy cabin, created in partnership with tangerine, is now flying daily between Sydney and Los Angeles. The new cabin interior design will be rolled out across all of Virgin Australia’s B777 aircraft by September 2016.

 

“I’m confident this is the best Business Class flying on the Pacific and that it will be the top choice for premium travellers,” says John Borghetti, Virgin Australia Group CEO.

  

“Great design creates outstanding customer experiences that transform business. This is what we have done for Virgin Australia and it’s shaking the market,” says Round.

 
Photo caption: Business Class Bar & Lounge